Misplaced Pages

#965034

26-712: In 1980 the right group split from the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement and founded the United Revolutionary Nationalist Movement. Led by Guillermo Bedregal Gutiérrez and Miguel Trigo Rodríguez . In 1980 elections the MNRU allied with the Movement of the National Left and presented Guillermo Bedregal Gutiérrez as its presidential candidate; he won 1.87 per cent of the vote. In 1985

52-560: A Bolivian mother in Corocoro , a city in the Department of La Paz . He worked in the Catavi and Siglo XX tin mines , both of which were owned by the mining tycoon Simón Iturri Patiño . While working as a machinist in the mines, he was made aware of the desperate conditions of the vast majority of the highland workers. In the 1940s he became involved in the nascent labor movement and joined

78-874: A number of whom later became presidents of Bolivia. At the time of its establishment it was a leftist/reformist party, along the lines of similar Latin American parties such as the Brazilian Labour Party , the Socialist Party of Chile , the National Liberation Party in Costa Rica , Dominican Revolutionary Party , the Guatemalan Revolutionary Action Party , the Mexican Institutional Revolutionary Party ,

104-506: A promise that Lechín would be the presidential candidate in 1964. Instead, Lechín's intransigence on political issues eventually convinced Paz not only to reneg on his promise but also to expel vice-president Lechín from the MNR at its 1964 convention. At that point, Lechín formed the Revolutionary Party of the National Left (PRIN). Rather surprisingly, Juan Lechín—the firebrand of

130-472: A year or two before calling elections that the MNR would almost certainly win. If so, he badly miscalculated; Banzer exiled Paz in 1975. The main body supported Paz in exile, while a faction continued to back Banzer. Paz' support of the Banzer dictatorship was a move that was to cost his party dearly at the polls in subsequent years. While Paz seemed to be moving steadily to the right, Siles Zuazo broke off to found

156-525: Is led by Luis Eduardo Siles . Juan Lech%C3%ADn Juan Lechín Oquendo (18 May 1914 – 27 August 2001) was a labor-union leader and head of the Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers (FSTMB) from 1944 to 1987 and the Bolivian Workers' Union (COB) from 1952 to 1987. He also served as the 29th vice president of Bolivia between 1960 and 1964. Lechín was born to a Syrian immigrant father and

182-583: The American Popular Revolutionary Alliance in Peru , Democratic Action in Venezuela . The MNR first came to power in 1943, as supporters of the reformist military regime of Gualberto Villarroel . The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement led the leftist Bolivian National Revolution of 1952 and ruled the country until 1964 when it was overthrown by the military coup of René Barrientos . During

208-570: The Revolutionary Nationalist Leftwing Movement (MNRI) and Lechín the Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left (PRIN). Falling from power only deepened the intra-party squabbles. With the main body of the MNR firmly behind Paz Estenssoro, the old leader made what can be seen as a major mistake in 1971, when he supported the coup d'état of Hugo Banzer Suárez . He apparently believed that Banzer would only rule for

234-657: The Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR), a Trotskyist political party. In 1944, Lechín led a congress of miners in Huanuni, Oruro , that led to the formation of the FSTMB. Lechín was elected the union's Executive Secretary. At this point, he became affiliated with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), though he maintained good relations with the Trotskyist POR. Following the 1952 Bolivian National Revolution, Lechín

260-599: The FSTMB by Filemón Escobar and by Genaro Flores in the COB. Juan Lechín Oquendo died in August 2001, at the age of 87. A controversial but undeniably important historical figure, Lechín was reviled by many and followed almost blindly by others. A major criticism used against him is that he tended to de-stabilize precisely those regimes that were friendliest to the interests of the working class (Paz Estenssoro, Torres, Siles Zuazo between 1982 and 1985), while being quite deferential to

286-458: The MNR in the center of the Bolivian political spectrum. Siles and Paz split in the 1960s over Paz's ambitions and personal control of the party. Filled with many strong personalities, the party had in fact begun to fragment along political and personal lines since the late 1950s, with Wálter Guevara being the first to leave and the popular Juan Lechín being expelled in 1964. Siles went on to form

SECTION 10

#1732852316966

312-496: The MNR won the 1993 elections and Sanchez was confirmed as president by parliament. He continued the policies of the NEP. The party placed second in 1997 elections , with the presidential candidate Juan Carlos Durán (at the time, the Bolivian constitution prohibited direct re-election of a sitting president) losing to the former dictator Banzer. At the legislative elections 2002 MNR in alliance with Free Bolivia Movement , won 26.9% of

338-501: The MNRU reintegrated with historical Revolutionary Nationalist Movement led by Víctor Paz Estenssoro . This article about a Bolivian political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( Spanish : Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario listen , MNR) is now a centre-right , conservative political party in Bolivia. It

364-484: The established order. After the Torres's overthrow later that year, Lechín was exiled once again and did not return until the democratic opening of 1978. By then the years had caught up with him and he had lost much luster and electoral appeal on a nationwide basis. He remained extremely popular with the miners, however, and once more he was elected to lead them and to chair the powerful Bolivian Workers' Union (COB). In 1980 he

390-508: The face of nationwide protests. Mesa soon resigned and presidential elections were scheduled for December 2005. In these elections MNR received only 6.5% of the popular vote and won 7 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 1 out of 27 seats in the Senate . Its candidate in the presidential elections was Michiaki Nagatani , whose poor performance demonstrated a steep decline in the fortunes of

416-399: The increasingly conservative policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo , by the late 1950s Lechín had begun to form a left-wing opposition within the ruling party. To reduce these tensions and prevent fragmentation, Paz was persuaded to return from retirement and lead the MNR in the 1960 presidential elections. The conciliatory Paz chose Lechín as his vice-presidential candidate, apparently with

442-502: The left—supported the 1964 military coup that toppled the MNR from power. Soon thereafter, however, he was forced into exile. He returned in 1971 and was elected as head of the Popular Assembly, a revolutionary congress endorsed by the reform-minded general General Juan José Torres . Once more Lechín's role was polarizing, as he attempted to create a parallel (union and Assembly-based, quite reminiscent of soviets) alternative to

468-483: The left-leaning Left-wing Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNRI) in 1971. Indeed, Siles was the post-MNR politician who was best able to capitalize on the remaining legitimacy and respect that MNR had as a result of the 1952 Revolution. Paz Estenssoro led the MNR-proper in the Bolivian general elections of 1978 , 1979 , and 1980 elections, finishing third, second, and second, respectively. Led by Sánchez de Lozada,

494-407: The neoliberal administration of Víctor Paz Estenssoro , who served his fourth term from 1985 to 1989. The closure of most of the country's tin mines by Paz Estenssoro (due to declining production and the collapse of world prices) led to considerable in-fighting in the unions. In 1987, Lechín—now aged 73—retired from the leadership of the FSTMB and was voted out as head of the COB. He was replaced in

520-519: The party as the Bolivian political scene began to be dominated by Evo Morales . For the 2009 elections, the MNR was a component of the Plan Progress for Bolivia – National Convergence . The party's future is uncertain as it is no longer represented in the parliament and its last government has been tarnished by serious accusations of corruption, economic mismanagement and armed suppression of protesters. The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement currently

546-405: The poorer sectors of society. Indeed, he was the most charismatic and popular MNR leader other than Víctor Paz Estenssoro . In addition, he was of far more radical political persuasion (Marxist-inspired) than the rest of the government leadership. This inevitably led to growing intra-party tensions and disagreements over labor issues and personal ambitions. In frank disagreement with what he saw as

SECTION 20

#1732852316966

572-772: The popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 11 out of 27 in the Senate. Following these elections, because no presidential candidate had received a majority, the Congress chose the President, and they again elected Sánchez de Lozada. After the 2002 elections, the party ruled in a coalition with the Revolutionary Left Movement . In 2003 Sanchez was forced to resign, and his successor, independent candidate Carlos Mesa took over in hopes of promoting national unity in

598-461: The presidencies of Paz Estenssoro (1952–56 and 1960–64) and Hernán Siles Zuazo (1956–60) were the top leaders of the Revolutionary period, establishing the universal vote, nationalizing the tin mines, and instituting an extensive agrarian reform. During this time many of the old elitist parties which had previously dominated Bolivian politics either disappeared or faded into irrelevance. This left

624-574: Was chosen as Minister of Mines and Petroleum. He also led the founding congress of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), an umbrella federation of labor unions, and was elected its Executive Secretary. Since he had played a vital role in the Revolution, and had advocated the permanent extension of weapons to the workers' militias to guarantee regime stability against the possibility of an oligarchic/military backlash, he became extremely popular with

650-644: Was the PRIN candidate for President and fared rather poorly at the polls, but in any case another military coup (this time led by Luis Garcia Meza ) forced him into exile a third time. When democracy was restored in 1982, Lechín and the other leaders of the FSTMB and COB returned to the political arena. In his restored position as top labor leader in the country, he strongly criticized the economic policies of president Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–85), coming close to toppling his beleaguered regime with crippling strikes and other non-cooperation measures. Lechín also vigorously opposed

676-666: Was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influenced much of the country's history since 1941. The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement was begun in 1941 by future presidents Víctor Paz Estenssoro and Hernán Siles Zuazo . It soon attracted some of the brightest members of the Bolivian intelligentsia. Among the party's most prominent supporters were Humberto Guzmán Fricke , Juan Lechín , Carlos Montenegro , Walter Guevara Arze , Javier del Granado , Augusto Céspedes , Lydia Gueiler , Guillermo Bedregal , and Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada ,

#965034